HOPE, Ark. (AP) — Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is set to announce he will seek the 2016 Republican presidential nomination.

He has an event planned for Tuesday in his hometown of Hope, Arkansas, where former President Bill Clinton was also born. The local newspaper wrote Monday that Huckabee's intentions are "the worst kept secret" in Arkansas.

Huckabee ran for president in 2008 and won eight states where social conservatives wield strong influence. This time, he and his aides say he will be an economic populist and a foreign policy hawk. Huckabee says that approach will appeal broadly to the Republican electorate.

Huckabee would join a Republican field that now include Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, business executive Carly Fiorina and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.